Because of you
by SVUPOSTS
Summary: Olivia see's someone at the club that she never expected to see ever again. Really bad at summaries. The story will be a lot better once it starts picking up speed. E/O.
1. Chapter 1

It had been almost two years since Elliot quit the unit. He hadn't contacted Olivia and he hadn't answered any of her attempts to contact him. She had dated a couple of times and she was currently in a relationship with Brian Cassidy who made her extremely happy. Even though Brian made her extremely happy, she still felt empty. No matter what, no one could take Elliot's place in her heart.

She never really liked to go out with Alex and Casey like she used to and the only time she did go out, she refused to go anywhere that she had gone with Elliot. She tries to avoid driving past the places they had gone together, as much as she can.

It was a Friday night and Brian was working the night shift. She was sitting on the couch in her living room when there was a knock at the door. She looked through the peep hole and rolled her eyes. She opened the door to see Alex and Casey dressed up as if they were going clubbing.

"Get dressed, you're coming with us." Alex said as she entered Olivia's apartment, followed by Casey.

"Where are we going?" Olivia said, giving her friends a suspicious look.

"Out." Casey said with a grin.

"Just tell me where we're going!" Olivia said as she folded her arms cross her chest.

"Not until you get dressed. And we're not leaving until you agree to come with us." Casey said as her and Alex plopped down on Olivia's couch simultaneously.

"Fine." Olivia said as she stormed off into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

She reappeared 20 minutes later dressed in a strapless black cocktail dress that showed off all of her curves, silver strappy heels, and her hair curled.

"Now where are we going?" She said as she walked over to her friends who were just sitting there, staring at her.

"You look amazing!" Alex said as her mouth hung open.

"Thanks, but where are we going?" Olivia said, now getting frustrated.

"A club a couple blocks down. It's new!" Casey said as she got up and walked toward the door.

"Kay, let's go." Olivia said walking out the door followed by Alex and Casey.

When they walked into the bar they couldn't really see anything. There were so many people and flashing lights that you had to be right next to someone to see their face.

They each took a seat at one of the three stools that remained; luckily they were all next to each other. Alex immediately turned to the guy sitting on her left; Casey was flirting with the bartender, so Olivia was just there. She was in a relationship but a little flirting wouldn't hurt.

She turned to look at the guy sitting next to her. She tapped him on the shoulder and watched as he turned around and the minute she saw his face, her jaw dropped.


	2. Chapter 2

Why was he here? Did Alex and Casey have something to do with this? She couldn't believe it. She was looking him right in the eye and she had no idea what to say. She turned and tapped Casey on the shoulder.

Casey turned and looked at her and watched Olivia's signal to look behind her. When she realized who was sitting behind her friend her jaw dropped. She immediately turned to Alex and mimicked Olivia's actions. Alex looked at Casey, then at Olivia, and then at the man sitting behind her friends.

She looked at Olivia with a slight smile and then whispered, "There's a reason you ended up sitting next to him. Maybe it was meant to be." She winked and then turned back and continued flirting with the guy on her left.

Casey turned back to Olivia and said, "Take advantage of this moment." She got up and went to find someone to dance with.

Olivia turned back to the man sitting to her right. They just stared at each other, unsure what to say.

He finally decided to break the silence. "Hey Liv, long time no see." He said as he looked nervously into her eyes.

"It's not Liv, its Olivia. You lost that privilege when you walked out of that squad room two years ago without even saying goodbye." She said with an angry look on her face.

"I can explain-"He started to say but he was cut off.

"No. You had your chance to explain every time I called you for a month after you left. I gave up because you refused to answer. I was going to just go to your house but I figured if you wanted to see me, you would've."

"Olivia, I was going to call you but-"

"No. You don't get the chance to explain yourself. You hurt me, Elliot. You left without even a goodbye and then you wouldn't answer my phone calls! You were my partner, my best friend. You were always supposed to be there and then you just up and leave. No explanation, no phone calls, no goodbye. You should've come to me when you had the chance." She went to get up and he grabbed her arm.

"Please don't leave." He asked in almost a whisper.

"Why would I do anything for you?" She said as the tears filled her eye. She was fighting to hold them back but she was losing the fight.

"Don't cry, Olivia. Please don't cry." He said as he went to wrap his arms around her.

"Don't. Just, don't." She said as she walked toward the ladies room. When Casey realized Olivia had gotten up, she followed her. Alex followed closely behind.

"Hey, Liv?" Casey said as she slowly opened the door to the bathroom. She could hear sobbing coming from one of the stalls.

"Hey Liv, honey come out here so we can talk to you." Alex said as she walked over to the stall their friend was sitting in.

Olivia opened the door and Casey pulled her into an embrace. "Livvy, I'm sorry. I wouldn't have brought you here if I knew he was going to be here." She said as she rubbed Olivia's back.

"I know." Olivia said as she pulled away. "I thought I was okay and that I was over it but seeing him again brought up so many memories."

"We can leave if you want." Alex said as she gave Olivia a hug.

"No, I want to talk to him. I want to know why he did what he did. You guys can go, I'll be okay."

"Call us if you need anything." Casey said as she rubbed Olivia's arm.

"I will." She said giving them a small smile as she opened the door to the bathroom.

The next thing she knew, she was back at her seat looking at Elliot.

"Can we go somewhere else? We need to talk." Olivia asked; you could see that she had been crying.

He just nodded and followed her out of the club.


	3. Chapter 3

They kept walking until they got to the coffee shop they always used to go to. It was like an instinct for them to go there. They always went there to talk things through after a case.

When they got into the shop, the waitress at the counter immediately recognized them.

"Hey, haven't seen you two in a while. You want the usual?" Betty, the waitress, asked them.

They both nodded and walked toward their usual booth in the back that gave them the most privacy. It was like old times, but the circumstances were completely different.

"So, uh, Liv. You said we needed to talk?"

"My name is Olivia and yes, we do need to talk. I think I deserve an explanation."

"Olivia, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you I was leaving. It's just…"

"Just what, Elliot? Why didn't you tell me you were leaving? Why didn't you say goodbye? I thought our partnership meant more than that. 12 years! 12 years we were partners, longer than anyone in SVU and you just walked away without a word."

"It was too hard." He mumbled so she could barely hear him.

"What?"

"It was too hard! It was too hard for me to say goodbye and then just walk away. I knew that if I had told you myself, seeing you upset would've made me rethink everything and it was my time to go. It was my time to leave. 12 years is a long time to be in SVU, let alone be partnered with the same person. You were my best friend and walking away was the hardest thing I've ever done." He said as he was trying to fight back the tears.

"I would have understood!" She said as she reached over and grabbed his hand. That's when she realized, no wedding ring. She didn't think it was the right time to bring that up.

"I know you would've and that's what would've made it harder. I just couldn't handle it. You're a lot stronger than me."

"El, you are strong. I am not stronger than you in any way. When Cragen told me that you put your papers in, I went into an interrogation room and cried. I went home and cried myself to sleep that night and every night for months after that. I had nightmares that Jenna had killed you. Not seeing you every day made it seem like you were dead. The past two years have been two of the hardest years of my life because you never called me back and for all I knew you could've been dead. How could you just walk away from me like that?" As she spoke the tears started flowing more and more down her face. She couldn't look him in the eye.

She felt him get up and slide into the booth next to her. Next thing she knew, she was crying into the crook of his neck with his strong arms wrapped around her. For the first time in two years she finally felt safe.

He held her there until the waitress showed up with the coffee. When she saw the two snuggled close she bent down and whispered something in Elliot's ear. It was something that made him smile.

Betty then winked at Olivia and turned around to return to the counter.

"El, what'd she say to you?"

"I'll tell you in a little while. I want to finish our conversation from before. I'm sorry Liv. I am so sorry and I want to be here for you again. I miss you."

"I miss my best friend. I miss the Elliot that was there for me through it all and didn't leave me. I miss the man that I could trust with my life and right now I don't know if that trust is still there."

The words hit him like a bullet in the heart. She couldn't trust him anymore? He really hurt her. He had to make this right.

"I have to make a phone call." He said as he got up out of the booth and made his way outside. He was about to call the one person he knew could and would help him.

While he was outside, Olivia was thinking about what had just happened. All she could think of doing was running. She was going to run like she did every time something became too much to handle. So, she got up and headed toward the door. When she got outside the conversation she heard changed everything.

_*Ring Ring Ring* *Ring Ring Ring*_

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey Casey. Listen I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to right now but I need your help."_

"_Well you're right about that but I will help you anyways. What can I do for you?"_

"_I need your help with Liv. How bad did I hurt her?"_

"_Stabler, you hurt her bad. Real bad. That is the lowest I've ever seen her. She felt like she lost her family. Yeah, she had me and Cragen and the rest of the squad but Elliot, you were her rock. You were the only thing that got her through half the cases you two worked. She needed you and you weren't there."_

"_I didn't realize she depended on me that much. I thought she would hate me after I shot Jenna. I figured she would never want to see me again so I left because I didn't want to know if she hated me. I figured it would be easier to remember her happy and my friend than if she hated me. I'm so selfish."_

"_I can't argue with that. But tell her what you just told me and be there for her. Just show her that you care about her."_

"_Thanks Case. I don't know what I would do if she hated me for hurting her. I love her, Case. I'm in love with Olivia. That's why my marriage failed even when I wasn't working anymore. I divorced Kathy because I love Olivia. I'll talk to you later, bye."_

Olivia had heard the whole conversation and it made her love him even more. She didn't want to run anymore. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

The minute her arms were around him, he knew she was there.

"What did Betty say, El?" He turned around and placed his lips on hers.

When he pulled away he looked her in the eye and said, "She said she could tell we were in love and not to let you slip away."

"I love you, El." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again.

He pulled away and looked into her big beautiful eyes and said, "I love you too."


End file.
